The Bell Tolls For Thee Or Not
by ebsoryn
Summary: Harry Potter has died, again. He is sent to his death angel's office where he is given one last chance to go back and make things right.
1. Dead Again

**The Bell Tolls for Thee . . . . . or not?**

***DISCLAIMER* I don't own Harry Potter. If I did I would be rich. This is not going to be a crossover, just AU and OOC. This is in response to a challenge by Reptilia28. The second AU I describe in the story is the story "Quantum Leap" by Seel'vor.**

He heard screams in the background, but they were fading away. He knew they were important but at the moment he couldn't figure out why. As he lay on the floor he stared blinkingly up at the bright white ceiling and started to wonder where he was at. As he lay there he heard his name being called.

"Harry James Potter, please report to the service desk, NOW!" A gruff male voice said near shouting over the paging system.

Harry slowly raised himself up to sitting as the memory of what happened moments ago hit him. He was killed by Voldemort in a duel while attempting to rescue Hermione from her torture under Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry and Hermione had been taken to Riddle Manor shortly after they were betrayed by Ron. RON! How could he have done that to us?! We're best mates. Harry thought to himself shortly before he looked around the room to try and figure out where he was. It was a large room painted all white, with a desk back in the left corner. It was a stylish black desk that one would see in upscale businesses. The counter on the front would hide all but the shoulders and up on whoever sat there. A blonde woman who didn't look to be more than twenty-five sat behind it in front of, as least that's what he guessed, a computer. As she looked up and saw Harry she nervously looked back down quickly right before the voice came across the paging system that Harry couldn't see anywhere.

"Harry, get up and go talk to the girl at the desk, I don't have all day." The voice said, sounding tired and frustrated.

Harry slowly stood up and stretched, groaning with pleasure as he heard his back pop several times, and proceeded to walk over to the desk. As he got closer he could see it was made of polished black marble and looked indestructible but at the same time looked as if a light touch would break it. He looked over and noticed the blonde wearing a nametag that read "Kim" and underneath that said "Death Receptionist." Harry wondered why anyone would want to be a death receptionist since it had to be such a morbid job.

"No it's not morbid; it's actually nice helping people go to the right ending place." Kim said without even looking up at Harry seeming to read his thoughts. Seeing the confused look on Harry's face, she explained. "There are a multitude of beliefs and religions in the world and universe. So much so that just the fact that they believe has created all of this. Well not really all of this as many of what you would call demons and angels existed before then, although it wasn't in a place like this. It's complicated to the point I barely understand it. All you really need to know is because so many people believe this place to be real, it is. Anyways, you're death angel Sorer Fenrir can explain more, his door is to the right of my desk. Be careful, he's not in the best mood. Good luck."

She smiled as Harry just shook his head, and looked to the right where a door materialized up from the floor. As he walked to the door, it slide up and to let him through. Once he was on the other side it slid down and disappeared, leaving Harry in a hallway that had walls of a deep crimson but did not seem painted. Rather the walls themselves were made up of light colored that way. Harry marveled at them while walking and could faintly hear music. As he was walking down the hallway towards a large oak door in front of him the music slowly grew louder and louder. When he reached the door the song changed and could hear bells before a loud drum beat kicked in and bass and guitars playing heavy metal was heard. The door opened and a man who appeared to be in his late 20's early 30's opened it. He had the look of someone who has witnessed death many times in person. He was wearing loose fitting brown and tan robes. His eyes were a pale blue. His hair was brown and was kept barely above his eyes.

"Harry James Potter," He said as he looked at Harry almost mournfully. Harry immediately recognized the voice as the one he heard over the intercom. "Welcome back to my office. Get in and sit down."

As Harry had sat down what the man had said sank in. "Back? What do you mean back? I've never been here before. I don't know who you are or why you seem to think you know me."

The man looked at him as he slowly walked around to the other side of his desk and sat in the large, over-stuffed office chair. His desk was covered in papers in all different languages, many of which Harry didn't even recognize. The man leaned over so he was resting his arm on the desk and his head in his hand.

"Alright, let's play this game. Although I do admit it's tiring. I'm Sorer Fenrir, your death angel. This is where people come once they've died, usually. However, I'm not the only death angel. If I was, could you imagine how busy I would be? Oh and not just anyone gets death angels. Not everyone needs one because not everyone is destined for great things and needs to be watched over. They usually are appointed by the Creator, Jim. Yes, Jim. Don't even start on that. We talked about how a creator named Jim sounded crazy, what was it, oh yes, the fourth time you died. This however, is not the fifth or sixth time, oh no, it's the thirteenth time you have died. If you die one more time, I get fired and then I get to spend eternity as an inanimate object such as the receptionist's desk out there. Thirteen times, do you hate me? I mean the first time I can understand. No one should have to face Voldemort, even as a spirit, at eleven. The second time was the start of your second year because you foolishly challenged Draco Malfoy to a duel because he called your soul mate, some Granger girl, a mudblood. In third year you had to rescue your Dogfather, which again, I understand, but did you honestly have to face so many dementors? You got kissed by one and got that Granger girl kissed as well. What was her name," Sorer said as he shuffled through papers on his desk before apparently finding the one he was looking for. "Here is it, Hermione. You're a foolish Gryffindor. Always rushing in where angels fear to tread. At least she was able to slow you down once in a while. The fourth through ninth times was an overdose of Amortentia by one Ginny Weasley. The tenth time was during the tri-wizard tournament when a house elf named dobby gave you too little Gillyweed and you didn't bother to check to see how much you would need for the hour. You drowned. Everyone was sad, especially Ginny, who wanted your money and you since you were dead, she couldn't have it. The eleventh time was when you were possessed by Voldemort at the department of Mysteries. He was subtle about it and ended up making you kill yourself by using Avada Kedavra on yourself. The twelfth time was sixth year when Draco used the Cruciatus on you until you went insane and then cast a severing charm on you and cut off your head. The final time at least you remember, since it just happened. Ron had turned you over to Voldemort and Bellatrix, betraying you and Hermione all because of his jealousy and insecurities. Hermione was then repeatedly tortured while you were bound and had to watch and then the same repeated as she was forced to watch you get tortured. Then while you were recuperating and for some reason they placed you in a side room alone, you somehow got into that Gryffindor head of yours that you could take both Bellatrix Lestrange and Voldemort and managed to get your wand and charge off to save Hermione. I commend your bravery but I have to ask, when does it become too much? You're supposed to live to be at least 194 and married to Hermione with tons of grandchildren but no that stupid Gryffindor bravery has to over-ride everything. Jim forbid you would have requested the hat to put you in Ravenclaw where you would have at least learned to think things through before that Gryffindor bravery kicked in and you went rushing in."

"Wait, Hermione is my soul mate? But she loves Ron, the scheming prat who betrayed us to Voldemort. I don't know how he could do that but he did and what about Ginny using love potions. I thought that was illegal to do? If I have died all these times, why don't I remember them?" Harry asked, almost demanding to know but at the same time partially scared of the answers he would receive. He didn't want to know why Ron betrayed them. It was sad to think that his best mate would turn them over to Voldemort.

Sorer sighed and shook his head and just sat for a minute staring at his desk hearing the last few lyrics to the song that was playing. It was Metallica's "For Whom the Bell Tolls." "Crack of dawn, all is gone except the will to be. Now they will see what will be, blinded eyes to see." He had just discovered the song and band and thought it fitting for a death angel's office. "Yes Harry, one Hermione Jean Granger is your soul mate. You should have been through your toys stage and noticed girls by the end of third year, realized how much you had in common by your fourth, and asked her to the Yule ball. From that point on, you two would have been a force to reckon with. However, starting in the summer before your third year Ginny Weasley and her mother Molly started to dose you with Amortentia. Ginny wanted the fame and fortune that came with being married to the BWL and Molly figured that you would be in a loving family and even if you didn't love Ginny you would care about her and would stay married to her. She didn't think that you had free will and wanted you and Ginny and Ron and Hermione together to have her one big happy Weasley family. Molly genuinely cares for you but since she and Arthur ended up together via love potion she didn't think that it was wrong. After all, their marriage turned out fine. Ginny however didn't love you. She loved the boy-who-lived. That was evident when she told you that she knew you would only be happy hunting Voldemort. I mean I know that stupid Gryffindor bravery is always there but you would have to be insane to only be happy hunting Voldemort. I digress. She only loves Ron because she doesn't think she's good enough to be the girlfriend of the 'boy-who-lived' and settles to be the friend of 'just Harry'. You, BWDTM, being the ignorant Gryffindor you are, never realized she had feelings for you. Although I do believe the Amortentia may have had something to do with it."

"What do you mean BWDTM?" Harry asked, his mind blurring with all the other things Sorer had said. Ginny never cared about me, Hermione liked me, Molly just wanted me to be loved and cared for and thought love potions would solve that since she and Arthur got together that way. It made sense for the most part.

"Yes BWDTM, boy-who-dies-too-much, it's your nickname around here with all the other death angels. Now I'm going to answer the rest of the questions you asked and some you haven't yet so I don't have to deal with them later. Ron is jealous of you. Always has been and always will be. There are many different universes than this one Harry. I suppose you could call them alternate universes. In one, Ron is jealous but realizes shortly after meeting you what he has in his family and you two end up best mates for the rest of your lives. You're married to Hermione, he's married to Lavender and you both live, rather cliché as it is, happily ever after once you've defeated Voldemort. In another, you and Hermione realize your feelings for each other in sixth year after you realize Ginny has been dosing you with love potions. Hermione knew but didn't know how to tell you. You two fall madly in love but Voldemort kills her in the final battle when both of you are in your 20's. You decimate Voldemort after that and then are in misery the rest of your life. You end up funding a project that will allow you to go back into time, recreating yourself from your eleven year old body and change things. There are others where you, Voldemort, and all of magical society do not exist. Like the universe I came from. You might know it; a muggle film in the 70's and 80's is remarkably like it. It's called Star Wars. No, and I can say this from experience, nothing in the movie actually happened, however the force exists there and there are Jedi and Sith. However when Jim appoints a Death Angel, he usually puts them in charge of a universe they didn't come from and one that is vastly different from their old one. It allows us some semblance of not growing attached to the people we watch over but we still do. It just keeps us from interfering as much as we would if we watched over our own. But that is neither here nor there."

Sorer sighs as he gets up and looks out a window that appears in the wall out of nothingness. Harry can see grass and sunlight and hear kids laughing but can't see what's going on outside. The room suddenly shifts and they are floating above the Earth. Harry quickly moves his feet up onto his chair as Sorer just laughs. "I love your reaction every time I do that. It never ceases to amuse me. You don't remember this because every other time we have sent you back, we've had to wipe your mind of everything after the time we've sent you back. You aren't allowed to know of this place. We can't leave the information in your head for anyone else to pick out. It would also be very unusual for you to know spells and a lot of information from your future years at Hogwarts. Voldemort had already figured out Horcruxes so that if he was killed he wouldn't be truly dead. However that only serves that purpose. A horcrux will not make you immortal except in the sense that you can be brought back. A whole person's soul ages whether it's split into pieces and separated or not. So even if he manages to take everything over and achieving his so called pure blood supremacy, stupid half-blood hypocrite, eventually he will die. At least that would be what would have happened if he hadn't been helped out by others." He looked down shook his head and Harry heard him mutter something about light and dark. Good and evil. Jim and Bob?

"Excuse me, who is Bob? I know Jim is the creator so basically God to some religions, so would that make Bob the devil?" Harry asks finally able to get a word in and have a question that wasn't answered already.

Sorer ran his hand through his hair before sitting back into his desk. Once they did they were back into his office. "Bob is what you would call the devil yes. Let's just suppose for a minute that Jim and Bob a long time ago wanted to see what people would do on their own, no direct interference from one or the other, just influence. Are you following me?" Sorer asked and upon seeing Harry think for a second before nodding, continued "Good, you're not as dense as you seem you dumb Gryffindor. Anyways so this influence was to see who ended up getting the most people to follow them. However it is only Jim and Bob who cannot interfere. There are others, what you people call angels and demons. They are the ones who are at least partially aware of our existence. They see more than most and can do more than most. These people can directly interfere. Now it isn't straight good or straight evil. Most are just trying to better something for themselves or others. Much like say Hermione badgered you and Ron to do homework. She wanted you to better yourself. So these people not only can influence but directly interfere. Now both sides want to win in the end however the good want to just win through as little interference through the angels as possible while the evil side wants to win no matter the cost. Because of this Voldemort was influenced by and then later confronted by one of the demons. In exchange for true immortality for his soul fragments, he had to help Bob win. Life is always about balance. Good and evil, light and dark, life and death, Jim and Bob, in the cases that the balance has been tipped to favor one, something will inevitably be done by one side or the other to bring things back into balance. Therefore, we are going to send you back to the summer before your fourth year, unless you really want to be sent back to right before you died like we usually do?" Sorer asked, laughing when Harry shook his head no.

"Sir, are you just going to wipe my memories again and leave me to my own devices this time or what's going to happen?" Harry asked suddenly worried about what would happen to everyone if he died this time. Hermione would be killed, the world would be enslaved or killed depending on their beliefs and the parentage, and to top it off he probably would not be going to that next great adventure either. Something far worse was most likely in his future if he died again.

"Since just being sent back has not been enough, no we aren't going to just wipe your memories this time and send you back. However you will need to sign a contract that while you are able to retain your memories, you will not share them with anyone but people you trust and that know occlumency. We cannot allow anyone to find out that you know about here or that this place exists. Furthermore, you aren't being sent back immediately after signing this contract. You will spend a little time here in this realm learning occlumency from some people here along with a few other things you'll need to know." Sorer looked at him as he laid a parchment and quill on the desk, smirking knowing the next inevitable question.

"And if I refuse to sign this?" Harry asked, leery of any kind of contract. Fourth year had made things difficult for him considering the Goblet of Fire and the TriWizard Tournament. The Goblet of Fire was an impartial judge true, but it didn't know who had put someone's name into it. Given that the contract was magical and binding, he had to compete no matter the circumstances.

"You get your memory wiped, sent back, and will most likely die, again. You won't be sent back to before your fourth year however. You'll be sent back to Riddle Manor. The time you will be sent back to will be right before you got it in that silly Gryffindor head of yours to rush off to save Hermione. You will almost certainly die again. I will lose my job. You will go to the void where you will feel nothing, and only be aware of the slow crawl of time. Hermione will die. Voldemort will win. Life will suck in the world. So really if you want a shot at happiness kid, you better sign." He sighed thinking that this time if Harry got sent back at least he was going to be prepared. Then if the kid died again, it wouldn't be because he hadn't tried to keep the boy from getting into a stupid situation. He couldn't be everywhere at once and Harry wasn't his only charge to be watching over. If he could just get the kid trained a little bit before sending him back, things would be looking pretty good for at least a little while. A smile spread across his face as Harry signed the parchment. As soon as it was signed it disappeared and Harry looked up at Sorer with a look on his face of now what? A door appeared in the right wall of the office.

"Now you go through that door and sleep until 'tomorrow'. Really the room will change to what appears night time but since time doesn't really exist here try not to think about it. You'll get about eight hours of sleep and then I'll come wake you up. Until I do wake you up, I have to talk to a few other death angels to get my other cases watched on while I'm training you. Now go!" He told Harry in a tone that said not to argue with him. He chuckled as Harry went into the room and the door disappeared. This might actually turn into a very good time.

As he stalked through the halls of the various deaths' offices, Sorer Fenrir was trying to think of the appropriate magical mentor for Harry to learn spells form. I can teach him to calm his mind and thus be able to work on his occlumency but magic is going to be way beyond me and this universe doesn't have the force so I can't teach him much more than that. Merlin doesn't want to teach anyone anymore. I don't think he wanted to teach anyone in the first place. Nicholas Flamel just recently got here and while he probably has forgotten more than anyone knows, he probably wants to spend time away from the living. So who can I find that is cunning enough to teach Harry to plan and stay in the shadows, powerful enough to teach him the spells Hogwarts should have been teaching for years and who can teach him to research a lot more than just rush in without any knowledge? They'll need experience, lots of it but they can't be arrogant. I wonder. . . . . I've got it. Grigori would be perfect.


	2. Realizations

The Bells Tolls for Thee. . . Or Not

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, it would have been pure Harmony. I don't own Star Wars in any way; if I did I would have a ton of money. OOC and AU but not a true Crossover.**

**Author's note: Sorry about all the exposition, it just wouldn't come out any other way for this chapter. Next chapter is TRAINING. This is now the third reposting of this one chapter. I really needed to wait until I had a friend review it. I get extremely picky about my own grammar. If you can spot the three changes that were made not counting the addition of this part of the author's note and the break I used underneath thisM, you will be my hero.  
The idea of Phoenixes being temporally omniscient is from Seel'vor's Quantum Leap. I liked the idea better than it "showing Harry's loyalty" to Bumbles for why Fawkes came.**

**~TBTFTOR~**

"Grigori, my old friend, how are you?" Sorer asked once he had found the man he was looking for. Standing in front of him, glaring down his nose at Sorer was one Grigori Rasputin, healer for a Tsar or Tsarina of Russia. The name of that person escaped him though; too many living and dead people to keep track of everyone's names. He looked good, considering all the hell he had been through on Earth. Although most people don't choose to look like they did right when they died for the rest of eternity so inevitably they regressed to an age they felt the most confident with in the case of looks. Grigori looked to be in his 20's and had a well groomed goatee. His brown hair was kept short and neat but his eyes seemed to be able to stare through you and know what you've done. Sorer had a growing feeling of inadequacy that he had to shake off right as the man spoke.

"Sorer, to what do I owe this atrocity?" Rasputin spat annoyed that the death angel had the audacity to come to him for help. I'm dead after all, he thought, what more does this place want from me?

"Shut up you old goat. I have a slight problem, as I'm sure you've heard, with one of my 'clients'. We're finally sending him back with more training and _no_ memory wipe. He'll be sent to the summer before his fourth year and will hopefully not be so stupid as to let that meddling bastard Dumbledore let Crouch Jr. be a teacher at the school." Sorer said almost grindingly before shaking his head and rubbing his temples; he had a headache forming already from all the crap Bumbles had pulled and was hoping to not have to tell Harry about it so he could figure it out on his own.

"Let me meet the dumb Gryffindor before I teach him. I really don't mind teaching him, as long as he isn't going to be a prat about it." Rasputin sighed, knowing full well how much work he had cut out for himself if he taught the BWDTM. He berated Harry in his head. The kid can't plan to save his life. He barely does enough research to get by and he apparently has a ton of cunning just no idea how to use it besides foolish Gryffindor things.

"Great Grigori, I really needed this. Thanks for the help. Jim will inevitably reward you down the road once this kid actually lives past killing off Voldemort." Sorer was relieved that Grigori didn't refuse out right even though he was well within his bounds to. "Come by my office after a while. He's currently 'sleeping'. Death takes a lot out of everyone."

Rasputin nodded before turning away from the frazzled death angel and proceeded to stalk away. I may be dead, but I still have a social life he thought. Merlin is going to be angry with me for being late. Late, he laughed, that is such a human concept, since time really has no meaning up here. We only recognize that when look in upon the mortals still running around on whatever planet they are from. He sighed before opening a door with runes carved along the outside edge and the name "Merlin" shining in red letters. I wonder what it is today, he thought. Always some kind of muggle game, scrabble last week, battleship the week before, what is it today. With that thought he entered and could hear his name being called sharply and winced as he knew a rebuke was coming.

"Grigori Rasputin where in the name of Jim have you been, I have been waiting for you?" Merlin nearly shouted at him. While Grigori had chosen to look like he was in his 20's, Merlin had chosen to change his appearance to the way those damnable chocolate frogs depicted him. He had originally looked athletic, his black hair falling across his face. He looked like a true warrior wizard when he first learned he could choose what he looked like. It was imposing just being near him. Now no one cared. He looked like a kindly old grandfather, just like that manipulative headmaster that was the cause for much of Harry's problems. That useless manipulative old coot couldn't even teach the students decent offensive magic, hamstringing not only Harry, but all the students who went through that school. No, couldn't have anyone looking better than him, useless git.

"Sorer Fenrir had to talk to me Merlin and please don't yell, I'm not deaf. What useless muggle game are we playing today?" Grigori asked almost instantly sorry he had.

"Scrabble, it's such a wonderful game don't you think?" Merlin chimed gleefully while Grigori groaned. Merlin always seemed to win simply because no one but Jim could prove that the words he used were made up.

Harry groaned as he rolled over on the cot that had appeared once he entered the side room of Sorer's office. It wasn't really a cot at all. It looked like the only thing it was made of was solid light. But unlike light, it didn't shine and it hadn't kept him awake. This was certainly a strange place, Harry thought to himself. The lights are bright but don't blind you no matter how long you stare at them, the floor can disappear at Sorer's will and I'm guessing other death angels and, Jim's as well. Sorer said we had a conversation about Jim being a crazy name for a creator, maybe I can find him and ask what that conversation entailed. Before telling himself he had to listen to Sorer and stay put until the room waked him, the lights came on and Harry heard a voice seeming to come from the air in front of him tell him his eight hours were up and to get out into the office. It didn't sound like Sorer's voice but either way, he wasn't going to ignore it and suffer the consequences.

Harry slowly rolled up to sitting on the edge of the cot and set his feet upon the floor. Harry laughed to himself as he put on shows realizing that any kind of clothing or accessory was just for show here. He stood up, stretching and hearing his back pop satisfyingly, and walked to the wall. As he reached it a door appeared and he walked through. Sorer was sitting in his desk, music playing in the background. Harry didn't bother to even try to identify it as it most likely wasn't something he was going to be tested on. He looked up and saw Sorer bobbing his head to it and sat down to wait until the song ended. Sorer started drumming on the air as the song finished up. Sorer then spun around not even caring that Harry had seen him being immature and completely goofing off while waiting to talk and began the conversation.

"I found you a teacher. He will teach you to be like all the founders, not just a stupid foolish Gryffindor. You'll be cunning and sly like a Slytherin. You'll learn to research before jumping headlong into an impossible situation just like a Ravenclaw, and you already have loyalty down so Hufflepuff is covered." Sorer said, smiling like the cat that just ate the canary, while laughing a little when Harry grimaced at learning to be like a Slytherin.

"Who is it?" Harry asked, wondering who would honestly volunteer to teach a screw up like him.

"Me" said a voice from behind Harry causing him to jump. He looked back seeing a man that he thought meeting in an alley, whether dark or not, was not a good thing. He could feel the power ebbing off the man. "Am I startling you boy-who-dies-too-much?"

"No sir." Harry said before realizing what he was just called. "Hey that wasn't fair. It's not my fault fate thinks of me as her bitch."

"Karen? She does not think you're her bitch. She is rather fond of you. Voldemort had to be stopped and she chose someone who she knew could do it. That says a lot Harry. I am Grigori Rasputin. I will be teaching you offensive and defensive magic. I will also be teaching other things, should we find out if you have the gift for them. I won't say now because I really don't want to tell you I will teach you something and you not be unable to learn it."

"Grigori Rasputin? You were the healer for the ruler of Russia, weren't you? I didn't know you were a wizard." Harry looked astonished. Although he shouldn't have been surprised, someone able to survive that much lethality from non-magicals had to be a wizard. He thought the cyanide could have been rendered harmless by a wizard who regularly took a neutralizing potion for those sorts of things. Someone's own magic core can help heal so the bullet wounds wouldn't have been so bad but the drowning would probably have finished it off. All in all, Harry thought it would be a pretty horrible way to go.

"Yes and I know where your thoughts have gone. It did suck. At least you're not as thick as most Gryffindors seem to be." Grigori grimly smiles while noting the look of embarrassment on Harry's face. He pulls a small medallion out of his pocket. Inscribed upon the gold surface were three over-lapping circles. The lines inside from the overlaps create what some people call a trinity knot. It didn't matter to Rasputin. "This coin will glow before your training each day and you will only have time to train while you are here. There may be the odd day off occasionally but do not expect anything except time to 'sleep'. You are to be trained before we send you back so the timeline gets how it should be. Until it glows entertain Sorer. Your training begins tomorrow."

Harry groaned while he thought of the long days of training he had coming. He knew he would be at least learning Occlumency, if nothing else. He wondered how Grigori was going to learn what gifts Harry possessed to learn but let it go. Training was 'tomorrow' and Sorer had already thrown a pen at Harry to recapture his attention. "What?"

"I have a few things. Firstly, Grigori is doing this as a personal favor to me. You might not like how he teaches. You might not like what he teaches. But you damn well better learn it." Sorer said demanding Harry to learn what was expected of him. "You are being given this last chance to put things right. Don't waste it."

Harry grimaced realizing the gravity of the situation. He knew he had to make things right. He had to help Ron realize how lucky he is with the family he has or if Ron didn't care, Harry wouldn't waste more than one try on it. If Ron was jealous and petty after the Goblet of Fire incident again, Harry was going to cut all ties with the ignorant boy. "What do I do about Ron?"

"Do? Cut him out. I already said that in _another_ universe, he got over himself. This universe he never will. The most you could do would be keeping him from going dark and considering he sold you out to Voldemort himself this last time you died he should be dealt with as soon as possible. I'm not saying kill him. Just if he gets a dark mark, expose it. I don't think he would, but keep an eye on Percy. That is all I will say on that." Sorer smiled almost sadistically and from someone who was an old Jedi, it was just unnerving.

"But Ron has been my friend since I met him on the train to school. I can't just cut him out." Harry tried to plead, not wanting to think that Ron had no chance of redemption no matter when he was sent back to.

"Harry, let me ask a question. How many people do you think were on the Hogwarts' express? Think about it. If it were full, Neville would have found his toad right away. There wouldn't have been a need to go looking compartment to compartment. Someone would have said something right away." Sorer said, almost pleading with Harry, his eyes full of hope that something would sink in.

"So Ron was told to sit with me? But the only person who would do that would be . . . Dumbledore. I was never told how to get on the platform. Then Molly showed up and had to be reminded of the platform number. She went to Hogwarts. Bill and Charlie went. Percy. Fred. George. Ron. I was meant to latch onto them." Harry suddenly realized as he understood some of the manipulation Dumbledore had done. "Was I meant to end up with Ginny as well? Was that the reason for the love potions?"

Sorer smiled as he suddenly understood why the Sorting Hat had a hard time placing this boy. He chuckled grimly before responding to Harry. "No, Dumbledore never would have condoned the use of love potions. That was all Molly and Ginny. Ginny _had _to have the boy-who-lived. Molly _had_ to have her little girl happy. So in her mind, like I had said before, no one would be hurt since she and Arthur got together because of a love potion and so it romanticized the idea. You would at least have a family that cared and loved you. Ginny would get her BWL, not 'Just Harry', and you would at least have cared about Ginny."

"What else did Dumbledore manipulate? Let me guess first Sorer, then tell me if I'm right or wrong." Harry grumbled almost seething that Dumbledore could be so callous towards him. He had no right to manipulate Harry in any way, regardless of the prophecy.

"First year, Quirrell with Voldemort in his head gets hired. Dumbledore should have realized that. If he didn't, it means he didn't check well enough. However if he did, and I am guessing he did and didn't do anything about it, that means he knew that bringing the stone here was going to put it in danger because of that. He has a floo in his office. He shouldn't have had to take a broom to the ministry. He was planning on being gone a while. The defences around the stone were such that three first years could get past them and not pose much to Voldemort. It was a test of me?" Harry's head hurt from the thought that went into Dumbledore's elaborate scheme there.

"One for one so far Harry, keep going and we'll see how much you can actually figure out." Sorer was already smiling. Harry was far smarter than he let on. Sorer thought he could bet it all on the Dursleys and their hatred for him and being better at anything than Dudley. They beat him if he got a higher grade so he hid his intelligence. This kid would be a potent force if he just learned to not care what others thought of him.

"Second year was the Chamber of Secrets. Wards at Hogwarts must have been screaming at him because of the Horcrux being brought through the wards. He made no attempt to find it. He knew Voldemort was the heir of Slytherin. He could have stopped the ridicule and shunning of me if he wanted to. He let the basilisk roam the school petrifying students and hired a crap defense teacher who anyone could see was a fraud. You can't kill a ghoul with a Reducto, since they are incorporeal. Somehow, Fawkes 'knew' to bring me the Sorting Hate which contained Gryffindors sword somehow in it." Harry stopped to ponder more for a moment, receiving a chuckle from Sorer as he acknowledged that Harry was again correct.

"My guess is that Phoenixes exist at all points temporally and it wasn't a test of my loyalty to Dumbledore. Fawkes knew I needed it because he had already done it and would do it, which if you think about it is confusing in itself. Dumbledore should have known Hagrid's pet couldn't have killed or petrified anyone by stare fifty years ago. So why did he let that little information go and save Hagrid? One more thing I can ponder later. I kill a basilisk, once again passing some sort of test. I can assume I am correct again?" Harry was growing more and more agitated by the second and was ready to find Dumbledore's soul on this plane and eradicate it for all the trouble he had caused.

"Correct and now that you see that, give me a short summary of your third through sixth years. We don't need to cover more than the basics." Sorer sighed, this boy had been Ravenclaw material all along. He would have sure as hell learned a lot more. Ron Weasel wouldn't have been a problem and he wouldn't have died so often.

"Third year, Dumbledore knew Sirius wasn't the secret keeper but let him go to Azkaban without a trial 12 years prior. Therefore he already knew I was safe. Dementors weren't needed and he let Fudge do it, presumably as a test to me to see if I could learn a powerful spell. Fourth year, he could have declared the tournament a draw and redone the Goblet of Fire to pick three champions and presumably would have only been Fleur, Cedric, and Krum. He didn't and it worked well to test me again. He let Crouch Jr. teach while most likely knowing something was off. Fifth year was Umbridge and the ministry. Dumbledore didn't talk to me much at all. So I am to assume it was a test of my independence and leadership. Fifth year I was to be 'taught' Occlumency. All that happened was I was repeatedly assaulted and only told to clear my mind which left me open to more visions from Voldemort. Sixth year was the abominable lessons with Dumbledore on Voldemort's past that could have all been done in one night with a lot less useless information. The only thing I really learned was Voldemort was a pack rat. Good enough summary?" Harry asked, the rage in him burning in his eyes.

"You are correct on all accounts Harry." Sorer said quietly afraid of the fire he saw in the boy's eyes. It was a fire that could see a planet burn from it. "Dumbledore believed he had to control everything for the greater good. He never saw 'just Harry'. He thought only he knew what had to be done. He was misguided and lost sight of the little people. He would make a better friend than enemy when you go back but it's your choice Harry. Tomorrow you will start training with Grigori and I. The first few hours will be with me and learning actual Occlumency. The rest of the day will be with Grigori learning magic and most likely what gifts you are able to use. Get some sleep."

Sorer very loudly sighed as the door to "Harry's room" in his office opened. Harry walked in and Sorer could feel the anger pouring off the man. He was no longer a boy. That boy died the moment Harry had realized how much of his life had been manipulated. Sorer was sure this time would be different, even if Harry received no training and was just sent back with the knowledge of the future, things would be radically different. He grabbed a piece of paper off his desk and quickly wrote a note to Grigori detailing what Harry had figured out. He also made sure to include how much fire he had in him.

"Kim," Sorer called out to his secretary. As she materialized next to him, Sorer jumped. He never got used to the instant transportation that was used around here when you really needed someone. It was just crazy.

"Yes Sorer?" Kim asked him, worrying what Harry could have done up here.

"Take this to Grigori; make sure he understands Harry is going to be very motivated to learn everything he can. That young man will burn his planet to ashes if something on this level of manipulation occurs to him again. Make sure Grigori knows we're going to have to definitely work on emotion control" Sorer shuddered as the thought of what Harry could do to Dumbledore if they sent him back without him having full control of his emotions. It would be utter devastation. Harry was a great person and had impeccable morals but he would no doubt be feeling so much confusion and hurt right now that it needed to be worked on as soon as possible before those same feelings ate him away.

"Yes Sorer, I'll make sure Grigori gets it." Kim said worried at how Sorer was reacted and just as quickly as she appeared she disappeared.

Grigori was pacing his "quarters" when Kim materialized next to him. He had almost hexed the spot she appeared before he realized who it was.

"Grigori, Sorer wanted me to give it to you. He also said to make sure I told you Harry is going to need emotion control taught and will be very motivated to learn. I need to get back to my desk." She spewed out before handing Grigori the paper and disappearing to her desk.

As Rasputin opened it, he almost fell over in shock. He hoped Sorer was right about this boy, no man, and made certain that he would have everything ready by tomorrow.


	3. Nice Tattoo

To say that Harry Potter was upset was an understatement. To say he hated Dumbledore for what had happened was being too kind on Bumbles. Harry wasn't upset he was furious, if they sent him back now he would kill the meddling old man. How could that idiotic meddling old man do this to him? He sent me to live in an abusive environment for "10 long and terrible years." He _knew_ what I was going to face Harry thought. The meddling old bastard knew. He wanted me meek and pliable, ready to be the weapon against Voldemort regardless of the fact that he never even trained me. He knew I was going to have to face that stupid half blood hypocrite and yet Dumbledore did nothing

"He did nothing. . . He DID nothing. . . HE DID NOTHING!" Harry kept repeating until he was screaming it over and over until his voice was ragged. "The bastard knew and wouldn't be bothered to train me. He didn't want me to win, just take away the hypocrite's horcruxes. It's not fair."

Harry sat down in the corner of the room. As he sat there, he noticed the room's usual lighted walls had dimmed until they were almost gray in color. It still illuminated the room but it wasn't the clean pure white it had been. As Harry sat there wondering what could have caused that, the door opened and Sorer slowly walked in.

"Well, well, well, my little Gryffindor has finally realized how much bumbles did to hamstring him. The room changed because you are currently walking towards a path that isn't fully light but it's most certainly not dark." Sorer looked pleased as Harry looked up at him and he could see the fire in Harry's eyes subside. "I was going to wait until 'tomorrow' to start to help you learn real Occlumency, but we're going to start now. Come here and sit by me."

Harry did as he was told and sat on the floor next to Sorer. As he did Sorer sat onto the ground cross legged. Harry immediately copied him. Sorer then started his explanation of how to clear one's mind. Trying to think of nothing wouldn't work nor would trying to shove all thoughts out of your mind; if a thought came up, you acknowledged it and then let it go, it would release itself. Truly clearly your mind meant you could accept that thoughts will occur and acknowledge then release them. The next step was to just focus on your breathing. Combining these two things would allow you to clear your mind and begin to see how to best defend it. Everyone had their own way to defend their mind, but the main concept behind the whole of it was a vault like system and because the system of defending your mind was all based on one concept, legilimens could enter a mind because the basic defense was the same.

"Ok, so since we know that the basic concept is to make it like a vault, we change it. Vault like defenses are all well and good but if we change the basic building of the defenses we will greatly improve your Occlumency right away. So I want you to think of some muggle device that can store information." Sorer was smirking inside. He already knew what Harry would choose. It was a rather obvious choice. It would also reinforce Harry's shields immensely from the start since it would be such a foreign concept to a wizard.

"Stores information? I would also want to be able to protect it somehow, and be able to use legilimency easy with it." Harry thought for a moment before the obvious answer hit him. He would base the set up of his mind on a computer. He could build firewalls, which would be the first protection against intruders. Following that he would set up passwords into his mind, if you didn't know the password you couldn't get in. After the password protection to just achieve access to his mind, you would have to sort through folders full of meaningless memories, the everyday average ones, to even begin the search for the important information in hidden folders scattered about his mind. The hidden folders would even have a password on them that was different than the one to get access to his mind. Then he would put up what would be considered an anti-virus program. Its job would be to detect intruders and check all his memories to make sure they were his. He could encrypt his memories with some kind of signature as a secondary measure just in case the anti-virus couldn't catch it. It never hurt to have a back-up plan. Viruses would be a way to damage other's mental shields. Once they were damaged enough he could plant a Trojan to leave himself a back door into someone's mind.

"My mind will be a computer, Sorer." Harry was excited when he saw the smile spread across Sorer's face. Harry then explained the thoughts he had to Sorer who agreed that it was an ingenious way to do it.

After several hours of Harry meditating and beginning to construct his defenses, Harry had finished the base of his shields. He opened his eyes and felt drained. Sorer approached him before Harry could say anything and looked right into Harry's eyes. Harry could feel the pressure of the ex-Jedi testing his defenses. But it wasn't malicious, like Snape's attempts had been, it was gentle. Harry realized Sorer was just pushing on the defenses that had been built up without trying to break through them. He was testing their strength.

"Very good Harry, I think even Snivellous would be hard pressed to break into your mind in a quick legilimency attack. If he were to try I would definitely recommend the viruses first and then planting a Trojan." Sorer smiled as he cleared his mind wiping away the viruses that Harry had subconsciously planted and assumed it wasn't a premeditated event. "Although I do recommend not trying to plan a virus in my head again, it was enjoyable finding them though."

Harry grinned sheepishly. It had been a test of his abilities rather than an accident. He knew he had to think of something more sophisticated than what he had, but for a rudimentary ability, he thought he wasn't half bad. "Sorer, it was a test of my own abilities in planting the viruses. I wanted to see if you found them like I assumed you would. If you didn't it would mean I designed something elegant enough to avoid detection and would have told you how to find them. Since you found them, I know I need to refine the 'viruses' that I plant. Thanks for being a help without realizing it."

Sorer was shocked and it showed. The man in front of him could be Slytherin when he wanted to and it was coming easier. He shook his head before looking at Harry and posing the question of what Harry felt. The answer he received wasn't reassuring. Harry was pissed. He felt betrayed and wanted to destroy the people who did it to him. Teenage anger and emotional fluctuation at its finest Sorer thought. Sorer told to Harry sit back down on the floor and told him to return to meditating. This time however, the goal was to find the representation of his magical core in him. It was more visualization than actual presence but it would help. Once Harry had found it, Sorer told him to tell what he saw.

"It's like an ocean of green with small rivers running out of it to all over my body. It's rather beautiful and dangerous feeling all at the same time." Harry thought about whether it would be possible to widen the small rivers he saw and the channels and streams further along to allow more flow. As he was pondering this, Sorer looked straight at him and spoke.

"We are indeed going to widen those same channels your magic flows through. All you need to do is visualize a much larger river cutting through the smaller ones. If you do it right, it's going to hurt. A lot." Sorer grimaced, knowing that this would be one of the most excruciating things that people will do.

Harry closed his eyes again. He found himself back in the ocean of green and proceeded to visualize the rivers getting flooded and larger channels being cut. As he was doing this, he was vaguely aware of a scream in the room but couldn't place it. The larger channels were being cut. The ocean of green was slowing losing depth as his own magic was being forced to channel through his body more. Harry was vaguely aware of the screaming stopping and the channels no longer widening as the ocean slowly was raising to its previous level. He opened his eyes and looked at Sorer.

"What?" Harry asked, wondering why Sorer looked like he had seen something incredulous happen.

"You were screaming for the last 45 minutes. You didn't move, just screamed. Do you even feel pain?" Sorer was astonished. This young man had widened his magical channels to full potential within a day and his core was already seventy-five percent recovered. If he had been trained right, he never would have died was the only thought floating around Sorer's head.

"That was me? I just heard screaming and I didn't think anything of it. Now what were . . . Oh shit." Harry mumbled before collapsing to the ground.

Ok he's human Sorer thought. At least he isn't some kind of invincible Jim we would have to train. Exhausted himself and never realized it and I know what he's been through and yet it seems crazy to even me that he could do that. His magic will come easier. His spells will be more powerful. If he can do it, wand-less magic will be child's play. Most importantly he'll be able to fight longer without getting fatigued so soon. Grigori is going to have his hands full. Sorer was full of glee as he picked Harry up and took him to the cot in Harry's room. After laying Harry onto the cot Sorer went and sat back at his desk and clicked his fingers to turn some music on. He smiled like a kid in a candy store as he thought about what Harry would be able to accomplish after this.

~TBTFTON~

The next time Harry woke up, he immediately sat up and began meditating again. By the time he was done, Harry had finally finished building his first set of mental shields. He would continue to strengthen them and add other defenses he could think of that might be needed later. As he opened his eyes he saw the coin start to glow. He picked it up and excused himself from Sorer's office. Harry started to walk down the hallway back to where he first arrived. Kim looked up and smiled at him before she spoke.

"First time training with Grigori, huh" she asked already knowing the answer. "Good luck. Follow that hallway until you hit his door. You'll know it."

Kim had pointed to a door that had just appeared and Harry smiled and thanked her before heading through it. As he was walking, the coin started glowing brighter and Harry picked up his pace thinking Grigori was already upset with him. His hand started to burn and he reflexively opened it but the burning didn't stop. Harry looked down just in time to witness the coin seeming to melt right into his hand. He grabbed his right wrist as the back of his hand screamed in agony from every nerve ending and his eyes clenched shut and his teeth ground together in an attempt to block out the pain. When the pain subsided he opened his eyes and saw on the back of his hand Grigori's symbol and the only thing he could think of was "Oh Shit." Harry immediately ran down the corridor until he found Grigori's door. The only reason he knew was because of the marking on the door matched his new tattoo. He didn't even bother knocking and just rushed right in.  
"Grigori we have a problem." Harry said, almost too fast for the man to catch it. "The coin is gone."

"How did you manage to lose it already, you stupid Gryffindor, I gave it to you yesterday." Rasputin was not happy. He had reluctantly agreed to train this buffoon and he already lost the only means of summoning him to training. It was then that Grigori noticed his mark on the back of Harry's hand. "Well now, this is unexpected. I'll have to talk to Karen about this and maybe Merlin may know something. This doesn't change anything. Your training will continue."

Rasputin conjured four dueling dummies and paced slowly in front of them. "You will be learning four curses today. You will also be learning a better stunner. Something a simple counter curse cannot fix. The spells are as such: Pulmo Punctum, Mortalitas Caliga, Attero Telum, Chalybs Funis, and Victus Nex. We will start with Victus Nex, the stunner, and work our way towards the lethal end of these spells."

Harry sighed. He knew he needed to learn to fight and be able to defend himself better than the Hogwarts' curriculum taught, but he was reluctant to have to resort to killing someone. In his mind it was far better to risk dying by not wounding someone than to have to kill them.

"Foolish Gryffindor, I already know why you're sighing. To take a life, yes it is a sad thing to do. However in the grand tapestry of life, will ending one Death Eater's life not change things? Even if the changes are small to you, they may be enormous to someone who was, say, going to be a victim of that same Death Eater down the road."

Harry pondered for a moment while Grigori seemed to smirk thinking he had won. After a few moments Harry spoke up, "but sir, wouldn't taking the Death Eater's life be just as bad as the torture and killing that the Death Eater has already done and will do? Just because someone committed a crime doesn't mean they will again."

Grigori frowned for a moment, caught between annoyance at the Gryffindor's foolish thoughts of second chance and the respect that was showed in the title he was addressed with. Regardless of the respect he was shown, Harry must be broke of the foolish notion that everyone deserves a second chance. "Harry, the Death Eaters make a show of hiding behind their masks. They have anonymity that way. Unless you remove their mask, they can claim innocence or they can claim imperious. Lucius Malfoy could walk into Hermione Granger's home, wearing full Death Eater robes, and torture and kill her entire family. If no one sees his face, he goes home and takes off the robes. Then it's "it wasn't me" or "I was under someone else's control." He gets no punishment for what he does."

Grigori paused before continuing, letting Harry mull over a bit of what was said and then continued in an attempt to keep the young man of balance. "Let's take an example of someone you know rather well, Severus Snape. This man was tormented at the hands of your father and his friends, and in all likelihood, he provoked them to action and then claimed innocence. If I can get your father to free up some time we'll ask him, otherwise he's still in the final processes of becoming a candidate for a Death Angel. You can ask Sorer about that later. That is neither here nor there because it's speculation about Snape's actions. He has a Dark Mark. Do you know what you have to do to get one?"

Harry just shook his head, he had never asked and no one had ever told him. Grigori continued. "You must murder an innocent. That was the only way he-who-is-stupidly-feared would give you one. Snape has committed at least one murder, has the murder of your parents on his hands, and most likely committed many more before becoming the spy for Dumbledore. Yet he still tormented you and allowed blatant propaganda to be spewed by the members of his house. He may feel sorry for your mother being killed but not for the rest. The other Death Eaters? They have no such reservations. They will kill, torture, and rape without pause. They don't care as long as their idea of the future is being met."

Harry spoke up "But that proves that someone can change. Even if it's only one it's still one less death. Just because the others do it does not give me carte blanche to kill as I see fit. If I have to kill it will be in self defense. I'm never going to enjoy it; I'm never going to actively seek that as an option. It will be a last resort, to indiscriminately kill like the Death Eaters makes me no better than them."

A smirk spread across Grigori's face. A few minutes ago this foolish Gryffindor was ready to give everyone a second chance like his idiot mentor Dumbledore, now he was at least prepared to take a life to defend his own, even if right now it was only in word and not action. "You learn well foolish Gryffindor. Before you were thinking it would have been better to die because of a risky situation than take a life yes? Now you are willing to take a life in self defense. I was never telling you to kill randomly like they do. It may have seemed that way only because it had to. If I had not gone to the extreme opposite of your position, you would not have made the progress that you did. You are willing to defend your life fatally if necessary. To use the mindset of muggle law enforcement, you don't want to take a life, it is a last resort, but at the end of the day, you are going home alive. Now we learn spells."

To say Harry was shocked and speechless was an understatement. He had just been manipulated, albeit it in the way that was necessary to his survival upon his return, and he didn't realize it. Moreover, he knew Rasputin was right and appreciated the help. It would never be easy for him to take a life, but if he had no choice he would. To bring flowers and love to a duel in an attempt to win would be useless. You had to be prepared to win and you had to accept beforehand that someone may not walk away from the duel.

"The first spell, Victus Nex, is basically the draught of living death, in a spell form. Like all spells it can be dodged. Shields can block it. But unlike a stunner, which a simple ennervate can undo, this spell cannot be undone and must run its course. The amount of time a person is under it will come from the spell caster thinking how long they want it to last as the cast the spell. The next spell you'll learn is Chalybs Funis. It will wrap the recipient in steel ropes. If left on long enough, the ropes will start to slowly tighten. Nothing to worry about for short term bindings however longer than 24 hours may cause motor damage. Attero Telum is the start of the more lethal curses. It will destroy the bones and muscles in the victim's arms. However as you know muscles and bones can be re-grown. But it will stop a fight." Grigori paused, happy with the look of dazed fear slowly appearing on Harry's face. 'I'll send him to Sorer after I teach him the spells and he practices them a bit. Get him out of my hair so I can talk to Karen and Merlin about the coin incident.' Grigori thought before continuing.

"The next spell will puncture the victim's lungs causing them to bleed internally and begin to suffocate. It is a slow moving spell and thus very easy to dodge however shields will not stop it, useful but not the end all to curses. The final spell is Mortalitas Caliga. I have used this spell on several occasions and I assure you it is a most gruesome manner in which to watch someone die. It has no known counter curse however unlike Avada Kedavra, a simple shield will stop it. It will in essence conjure a highly acidic mist that will eat away victim's entire body. It is indeed most gruesome." Grigori shuddered as the memory of what the spell had done to those attackers surfaced. It was their own fault for attacking him in the dead of night in his own home in an assassination attempt but watching another human melt before your very eyes would not sit well with most people regardless of the circumstances. "I am requiring you to learn the last one even if you never use it. It is always better to know too much than too little."

Harry had gone from dazed fear to complete shock. He was slowly starting to learn a deep respect and mild fear for the man in front of him. Harry took up his wand and faced the first dummy. He was eager to get this lesson over with. He focused on the target and said "Victus Nex." He forced the thought of 6 hours into the spell. It shot out of his wand in a deep crimson color and struck the dummy. It crumpled to the floor and Harry was ecstatic he got in on the first try.

"Good job Gryffindor, you might be able to learn things quicker than I thought. Next spell." Grigori thought to himself, I may come off as grating to him, but the fact he got that spell in the first try is a very good start. However I will not praise him like a puppy all the time.

With slightly more confidence than he should have had Harry faced the second dummy. "Chalybs Funis" Harry said. As the spell left his wand it did a curious thing. Harry had said the spell and then took his focus off his target. In doing so the spell lost its target and just wrapped itself around the nearest animate object. Harry fell to the floor and when he hit the ground the wind was knocked out of him. He heard Grigori come over and mutter "stupid Gryffindor, you need to stay focused on your target while you cast it. Solvo Funis."

Harry got up and dusted himself off then thought how curious it was that this place even had dust. He picked his wand back up and tried again. He got it this time. All he heard from his trainer was "next spell." Harry figured that the same lesson from before would apply here but instead of just the target you would need to also focus on the arms more intently than the rest. His guess paid off as he watched the arms of the dummy go limp and then fall off. Harry however was not lucky on the last two spells. Each of them required many starts to even begin to cast right. He was lacking any kind of intent behind them. He needed have the intent to do the harm to save his own life. In the end Grigori had to start the dummies firing curses and hexes to get Harry to cast Pulmo and Mortalitas.

At least he learned them all without complaint was the only thought Grigori had before he sent Harry back to Sorer. He had to go find Karen, and if Rasputin was correct she would be in her little "power room" she had created for herself. It was a pocket in space and time that stood still. The only reason it did so was because fate herself had told it to. Now the question remains, if she hadn't told it to, but it was still fated to be that way, would it still have the properties it did. It was an interesting intellectual exercise but would do nothing but frustrate you when thinking about it. Rasputin came to the door and before he even knocked it opened. Karen looked straight at him and said plainly "I know why you're here, considering I wrote what happened. Come in."


	4. Getting Ready

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry this took so long to get out. Real life decided that it was going to give me both barrels for a while and then my muse was being a snob and didn't deign to talk to me. She's back but still finicky. I will never abandon this, unless I end up dead in some horrific, gruesome accident or maybe a heart attack shagging blonde triplets, which would be a nice way to bite it too.**

' **Thoughts' "Speech"**

"Karen, you better have a damn good explanation for this." Grigori was fuming. Harry bearing his symbol would bring trouble to the foolish boy. At least if he didn't know how to defend himself it would. There were still people out there who despised Rasputin too much regardless of knowing nothing but that he was the healer for Tsar Nicholas II, his wife and especially their son, Alexei. Granted there was a reason that the stigma surrounding his name existed, having slaughtered countless people in the first year of the first Great War, but not many people still knew that. They just hated him for not being able to fully heal Alexei. What was he supposed to do, use magic and reveal to them that Wizards did exist? No, he just used his knowledge of muggle medicine at the time to make sure that the idiots who claimed to be healers didn't kill the boy.

'Like I have to explain myself to him' thought Karen before she spoke. "You are training him Grigori; I just thought he should bear your mark for the trouble you will put him through. That and there is a reason you were feared. Train Harry to carry that legacy and maybe the stigma surrounding yours will lessen."

"Cryptic as ever Karen, you've given me an answer without giving me one. Thanks; I can already see this conversation is going nowhere. I'll be leaving." Grigori was usually a patient man but Harry had already burned through most of it during the training session that day.

"Grigori, wait. You call him a foolish Gryffindor, why? What has he done to earn that name with you?" Karen was hoping it was just the deaths Harry had been through, and her hope was of course proven right.

"He's died thirteen times. They should have forgone the memory wipe after the fourth time. He gets it into his head to go save someone or stop something from happening and he doesn't think of the consequences. He just rushes in. He's got enough intelligence he could have been in Ravenclaw and the boy is loyal to a fault so Hufflepuff would have been a good placement. Hell, he could have even been in Slytherin and lived up to his ambition and cunning and been great even coming from a supposed 'dark wizard training ground.' But does any of that happen? No because it wouldn't look good if the boy-who-lived was anything more than a Gryffindor poster boy. Dumbledore saw to that." Grigori just shook his head at how much the meddling old man had hamstringed the young man. 'What kind of man would train someone to fight the most feared dark wizard of the time and only teach him spells to disarm, stun, and do small scale damage?' Grigori shook his head. He was filled with disappointment at how Albus had handled that school. Magical Britain had deteriorated ever since he began running that school. Most adult wizards and witches couldn't cast a decent basic shield, could barely cast a stunner, and couldn't defend themselves if the need arose.

"So you hate him for the things you've heard about him and the things others have done to him, but nothing you've witnessed. He's hesitant to cast lethal spells. That doesn't mean he's weak. The young man has a respect for life. If you want him to prove his worth, give him a challenge besides learning spells. Most wizards don't know wandless magic. It sounds like a worthy skill and a challenge to me." Karen was trying to nudge Grigori in the direction that needed to be gone. If you wanted to know about bearing the burden of being a seer, look no further than to Karen. She would be able to tell you. She writes all of history. She is fate. She knows what WILL happen. She wrote what would happen to Harry. Sadly it had to be done that way for the world to come out better and not still fester in the rotting filth it currently was. Had Harry just saved the world from Tom, it would have continued to hobble along on a crutch. The problems still there, just festering beneath the surface, like a cold sore waiting to break free again.

"I'll try to give him the benefit of the doubt Karen; it's just hard with all that he's been through to see him being weak and acting stupid when I know he's anything but." Grigori sighed wishing that Harry would just live up to his full potential. Harry knew how to survive but it was high time he did it because of instinct and not luck. "I will excuse myself Karen. I still need to converse with Merlin over the Gry. . . Harry's new problem."

"Goodbye Grigori, train him well." Karen said while at the same time thinking 'Like I know you will.'

**~TBTFTON~**

"Sorer, what is Grigori's problem with me? I haven't done anything to him and yet he treats me like I'm a waste of his time." Harry, while not showing it outwardly, was slightly hurt over Grigori's treatment and attitude towards him. Harry had learned while living at the Dursley's that showing his emotions could and probably would get him into trouble with a beating to follow swiftly after the great purple beast that was Vernon got done yelling.

"I'd rather think he's testing you Harry. He doesn't want to waste his time. Much like Snape pulled with the pensieve left in the open for you to 'stumble' across, Grigori is making sure you're good enough to be trained. Now I'm not going to waste breathe to point out the difference between Grigori and Snape, because it should be clearly obvious." Sorer should have been surprised at Harry's outward lack of emotion when he was hurt but then again as Harry's Death Angel, he already knew what Harry had been through in life. It was pathetic how the Dursley's hated Harry since he was dropped off on their doorstep. Petunia for being jealous of her sister Lily, Vernon because he hated anything abnormal and finally Dudley because that was how he saw his parent's treat Harry and thus decided he could as well. "It's time to test your shields Harry. I want you to either keep me on a single memory or failing that, force me out. Then once you can do that we'll work on creating false memories to the viewer. Granted I will know they are false but that won't matter. In order to do it properly, you would take a true memory to base things off of and then tweak it. Little things in order to make the viewer perceive it's true but not overly change most of the memory. Like if Snape asked you what you and Hermione had been talking about and you just change parts of the conversation to seem innocuous rather than trying to bluff that you hadn't really been talking."

"I understand Sorer. Let's get this over with." Harry prepared himself as best he could and awaited Sorer's assault on his mind. He felt a tickle against his shields and just slapped it away thinking it was his own anxiety. This happened several more times before Harry finally ran out of patience and asked when it was going to begin.

"Harry, it has been going on for the last 10 minutes. I can't even get close to your mind. Hell, I can barely find it and then you slap me away. If you learn the last few things Grigori has for you, you'll be going back much sooner than expected." Sorer was pleased, but also a little confused as to why Harry's Occlumency skills were as good as they were. It had been a few days since starting and granted Harry had the basics of the skill down he was pretty much a Master Occlumens already. Although Harry did have the knowledge from the failed lessons and that may well explain why he was able to do it so well, but it was still strange.

That was the end of Harry's training on the day since if someone couldn't even pull up a memory from your mind, you really didn't need to fake a memory. At least that's what Harry had thought. Sorer quickly disabused Harry of that notion when he said that Harry would still be learning to do it so he would be able to use his "memories" as misdirection

Contrary to most people's beliefs Occlumency wasn't the ability to block access to your mind from others. It was the practice of being able to shield the truth and give the viewer a false memory. The best Occlumens could provide a fake memory that would hold up to the most scrutiny even a master legilimens could manage. In many ways, Occlumency was far superior to legilimency in that in order to do Occlumency properly all you had to do was know your own mind. However to be a truly masterful legilimens, you had to not only fully know your own mind but suffer through trying to figure out someone else's in the process. Unfortunately for Harry, and it could be assumed fortunately for Sorer's continued sanity, Harry's hand ended up slightly glowing and a light burning, which Harry knew was Grigori summoning him for more training.

**~TBTFTON~**

"Hello Grigori." Harry was resigned. He knew he'd probably be learning tactics or some more spells today. He wasn't, however, ready for a blast of green spell fire to come flying at him as soon as he opened Rasputin's door. The only thing that managed to save him was his seeker reflexes and he dropped to the ground firing stunners. The next thing he knew, he was wrapped in steel ropes. The only thoughts in his head were in how to get out of this mess when he was levitated into the room.

"Next lesson, Gryf. . . Harry. You are not to fire stunners at someone firing lethal spells. There is a force level you must adhere to. They fire stunners and disarming spells, you fire them back more dangerous but not lethal spells. They fire bone breakers and cutting curses, you better be firing lethal spells back. Your life is more precious than theirs." Grigori was trying to be nicer to the boy. In fact, he was. He just needed to get the point across. After that, he planned on revealing why he was so harsh to Harry on the first lesson. Maybe doing that would get his point across.

"Solvo Funis." Grigori dissolved the ropes binding Harry. "Any questions you would like to ask me?"

"Yes, can the dead be killed again? Barring that, why are you so hard on me? I haven't done a thing to you and you treat me as if I'm some arrogant little kid who doesn't want to learn what you have to teach and who only treats you with disdain?" He didn't like being attacked as soon as he opened a door. Slamming his face into the floor just added insult to injury.

Grigori sighed. 'Which question to answer first' he thought with a chuckle.' "No we can't, unless you're Jim which you are not. I treat you that way to get you into reacting how you should. So you don't have to lose who you love like I did." It was never easy to open up to people. Some couldn't follow, others didn't care, and most, at least Grigori thought it was true, only offered false sympathy. "Yes, I was the healer for the son of the Czar of Russia. That was not always my job."

To say Harry was shocked that his trainer would open up to him, even at all, was an understatement. Grigori had no vested interest in what happened on Earth anymore or at least that's what Harry had understood from what little Harry had gleaned when he had asked Sorer about it. Harry decided to press the man for the answer he seemed to want to give. "What did you do before?"

"I ran a shop, in one of the wizarding districts in Russia. I had a wife, several children. I loved them, they loved me. One day one of the many Dark Lords that Russia had came to my shop to 'request' I supply him. I cast Victus Nex on him and pinned a letter with my refusal on it on him. I then found his portkey and activated it. Several days later, my shop was burnt to the ground. My wife was killed along with my children. All for my simple thought that I could get rid of him without retribution because I hadn't harmed him. He then came back after a week to force me into his service since I had nothing to live on and no family left. I killed him with Pulmo Punctum and left him to die not even bothering to attempt to claim responsibility. I went on to become the Czar's healer until I was in turn murdered." Grigori was on the verge of a breakdown. He never shared with anyone. Even in life he had been more of a solitary person than anything. It was a pure miracle he found and married his love.

"I'm sorry for your loss Grigori. I know without experiencing it, I could never know how it feels." Harry was almost shocked speechless at what he had heard. This man had defeated a Dark Lord and was training Harry to be able to do the same. Anything he offered to share should be listened to carefully

"It was a long time ago. I'm used to the pain. It was my constant companion while I walked the Earth alone. So what have we learned so far today?" Grigori reigned in his emotions and got back to teaching, glad Harry wasn't trying to comfort him as so many others would have.

"Escalate lethality as needed. If my opponents fire anything above stunners, they have forfeited leniency in my spell choice." Harry didn't necessarily like it, but he would eventually get used to it. He wanted to succeed and live this time after all.

"Good, at least I don't have to take more time to teach you that lesson Harry. Our next is learning the planning that goes into different kinds of missions muggle special operations forces get. Search and destroy, reconnaissance, and the like." Grigori had a mind for these things, ironing out little details that could totally ruin a plan. Harry's groan was music to his ears.

**~TBTFTON~**

Harry's training was complete. He learned to plan and fight from Grigori and how to occlude his mind from Sorer. He also developed his own style of legilimency as well. What had felt like months to him had only been a week of actual "real world" time. He was sitting with Sorer in his office with a final covering of Occlumency and Legilimency to make sure he was ready when Sorer said he passed.

'Well, he's pretty much ready to go back and keep his owns secrets and that of death.' Sorer then looked up from his musing to see a smirking Harry sitting in front of him, looking entirely like the cat that ate the canary.

"What's so funny Harry?" he was genuinely confused about what could have the boy smirking so much.

"Just a moment, you'll see." Harry couldn't help himself. He was dead. There wasn't much else to do here besides study and practice what he learned. The more times Sorer found his plants, the better he got at designing them. It had almost been a game between the two of them when they were together the last few hours and genuinely days since coming here and being taught to truly occlude his mind. 'If he doesn't find it, I'm going to assume no one alive back home will either.' The longer he just smirked at his teacher the more amusing thoughts flitted back to him from his Trojan in the Jedi's mind.

"Alright Sorer, I'll show you." Harry looked straight into his death angel's eyes and suddenly they were floating around the Jedi's mind in what was a blanket of fog. "Here it is, now do you see?"

To say the Sorer was shocked was an understatement. As he looked at the fog that he used to shroud his mind, a small window slowly shimmered into focus allowing small wisps of fog to slowly float out of it. The amusing part was now that they were in his mind, the fog that flowed out circled back around the edge and over to Harry. "I almost want to leave it to show others but you'd have access to my mind if I did so get rid of it you Slytherin before I start to give points to the house you most hate."

Harry chuckled at Sorer's attempts to get a rise out of him even for a joke. In the little time he had been here he had already learned that there is a time when taking someone's life is worth the cost you pay for it. That just because he was a Gryffindor didn't mean he had to run into things without thinking. Cunning is not treachery unlike what most of the current Slytherin house seems to think and research, when in moderation, will bring about more successful results when he decided to run headlong into things. Oh he didn't plan things extremely far in advance, he could but he didn't like to. He could better assess situations now, seeing viable options and also having learned that if he took a step back, he sometimes had more options than he originally thought. Sirius wouldn't have been a casualty if he had known that before. It could have been as simple as calling Dobby and asking him to check on Sirius for him.

"Sorer, what do you think, should I request veritaserum when I get back to prove Sirius's innocence? That would take a pawn away from Dumbledore." Harry asked, he had gotten guidance on whether or not to just storm through things and nail them all right away, but he still had to contend with finding and destroying the horcruxes when he got back. He also had to deal with Dumbledore having control over his trust vault, the old man's 'magical guardianship' could be dealt with by clearing Sirius, but that could cause other situations to change and all his knowledge would be rendered useless. Although that in and of itself wasn't a bad thing as knowing what would happen he could change some small aspect and mess things up completely and die again. Better to not know everything than know it all.

"I'd say request veritaserum. It's the only true viable option that doesn't arouse Dumbledore's suspicion that you're not a pawn right away. Yes he is going to notice that something strange is going on with your knowledge of being able to demand it since you are the last remaining Potter and head of house, but it's better than him finding out other things you don't want." Sorer was trying to give decent advice but in messing with the past, there were so many variable that affected the future and it was hard to deduce the outcome.

"Ok, well, send me back Sorer. Where am I ending up anyway?" Harry was already formulating plans based on when he actually got sent back.

"Hospital wing right after the escape of Sirius Black and just before the incompetent Minister Fudge shows up. Have fun Harry, and succeed this time." Sorer was glad to be able to get back to an almost normal function around his office now that Harry was about to go back. Jim would also get off his back about the time continuum and Bob's evil influence on earth. "Harry, before you go, I wanted to at least see your parents once."

With practiced showmanship only achieved after centuries of being 'alive', Sorer dissolved a wall in his office to reveal Harry's parents standing there in a small annex. It was all Harry could do to not break down into tears at seeing his parents, well alive didn't cover it, but there all the same. Lily was the first to break the tension by running over and hugging him and generally cooing over her grown son.

"I love you Harry, and I'm proud of you regardless of what happens." Lily was excited to see her son, even if it was only for a few moments before he got sent back. Sadly it was all the time Jim had allowed them to see Harry. James had passed the final exams to start training to be a death angel, so had just a short amount of time to visit.

"Harry, I'd love to spend more time with you, but Jim's barely given us this time right before you go back, so you'll know you're loved and that you don't have to wonder about it. I'm proud of you standing up for your friends. You've always made me proud. I love you son." James wasn't as physically showing as Lily was, but his love and adoration shown through his eyes regardless. That and Lily was dominating Harry with a strong armed hug before letting him go.

"I've always wanted to hear that. I love you both and hearing you say that makes everything I'm going to have to do seem worthwhile. I'll try to make sure you both stay proud of me. Sorer, I need to go before I'm going to tell you off and stay here with them." Harry was starting to cry. He brought up his Occlumency shields as the world around him started to haze. Soon he was laying in his bed in the hospital wing.

'Well' he thought, 'it's time to get this done right and not fail anyone.'


End file.
